Wye Valley: grasslands, grazing and a Local Partnership Project
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Wye Valley:grasslands, grazing and aLocal Partnership Project
Andrew Blake, Wye Valley AONBPaul Silcock, Cumulus Consultants
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• 326 km2
• 92km River Wye • 65% farmland• 7 - 14% HNV• 27% woodland• 3 SACs• 4 NNRs• 45 SSSIs• 123 SAMs• 204 local wildlife sites
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Grasslands
• Old meadows, orchards and pasture • Mostly NVC MG5
+ limestone grassland & heathland• Small fields bounded by drystone walls,
thick hedges &/or woodland• Often ‘amateur’ landowners
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Existing projects• Woolhope Dome Project (2001-2009)
– Parish scale biodiversity enhancement project• Wye Valley Graziers (2002-2007)
– Post FMD livestock farmers v CAP Reform • Parish Grasslands Project (2001- - )
– community-based initiative to assist ‘amateur’ grassland owners: 70 members / 100ha
• Monmouthshire Meadows Group (2003 - - )– Welsh sister to Parish Grassland Project: 80
members / 200ha
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Successes
• Community driven• Improved landowner awareness• Linkage to local farmers and contractors• Management and infrastructure delivered• Advice and training provided• Identification and designation of sites • Involvement of children and young people• External funding sourced
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Issues encountered (1)• Poor profitability of livestock enterprises • Livestock disease and associated bureaucracy• Reduction in livestock numbers and cattle/sheep
ratio And in key areas with small sites etc:• Lack of grassland management
– loss of sites in worst cases• Changing social patterns
– landowners without farming/conservation skills, fewer commoners with livestock
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Issues encountered (2)• Machinery availability and use
– required, where no grazing available• Infrastructure requirements and cost
– Initially funded, now requires replacing, expensive on small sites
• Agri-environment payments – Small, insufficient payments for small sites;
bureaucratic application process– AE schemes not targeted at small landowners
• Lack of landowner interest and awareness– Some do not mind scrub, or wish to plant trees
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Lessons learned • Local ownership vital• Committed individuals and active farmers
needed• Collaborative approach and co-ordination
required with ‘amateur’ landowners and small sites
• Machinery: income required to reinvest• Funding ‘mish-mash’ affects project continuity• Sustainable livestock farming requires long term
commitment
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Local Partnership Project (LPP) approach
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LPP need• Help people to help themselves -
collaboratively• Address specific needs of ‘amateur’
landowners and small sites not presently covered by RDP
• Be ambitious enough to target whole HNV resource – building on previous projects
• Provide long term funding, continuity • Focus on long term sustainability
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LPP – policy context• EFNCP proposal to EC for LPPs from 2014• EAFRD regulation - COM(2011)627/3 – Article
36 makes provision for:– “co-operation” involving different entities such as
agriculture, food chain, forestry... approaches;– co-operation among small operators in organising
joint work processes, sharing facilities and resources;– promotion activities in a local context relating to the
development of short supply chains and local markets;
– collective approaches to environmental projects and practices
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LPP objectives (1)
1. Conserve and enhance HNV grassland in area (2,000+ ha)– Advice on grasslands and grassland management– Capital work payments for land management or re-introduction
of livestock, alongside AES
2. Support and promote extensive farming systems– Support for existing farmers going into traditional breeds and
new graziers/entrepreneurs– Support for group or individual marketing initiatives – Advice on AES, RDP and other grant applications
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LPP objectives (2)
3. Engage local communities and improve contribution of grassland sites to local economy
• Support for local grassland groups and volunteers• Education and training (rural skills, farm business,
conservation)• Outreach to children and young people• Directory of graziers, contractors, local businesses,
grassland groups, specialists
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LPP outcomes• HNV grassland in area under positive
management • More farmers grazing and cutting HNV
grasslands, profitably• More non-farming businesses and local people
involved with HNV grasslands• More grassland groups, improved awareness • More resilient grassland sites and more
sustainable management systems
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LPP scope
• Area: ideally semi-natural grassland across the AONB (2000ha+) – different issues/needs across area suggest
different services – North & South target areas?
• Timescale: long term, but initial 7 year term linked to RDP
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LPP finance and funding
• Indicative budget of £1m for initial 7 year term
• RDP funding from England and Wales plus other external funding
• Working alongside existing schemes and initiatives
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